Talma Set, the younger brother of Blue Squad’s Dolma Set, was the unwitting and unwilling recipient of the Ouroboros Crown which irrevocably binds him to Lin Sosa. When Dark, Set is sheathed in matte-black shadow and has the scaleless head of a snake. Floating about 2 centimeters above his head is the visible representation of his Artifact, a bronze circlet about 13 centimeters in diameter, “carved” in the semblance of a snake consuming its own tail. The Crown is a projection and not actually physically present. In his Darkened state, Set possesses functional fangs which can deliver a paralytic poison that causes severe inflammation of the mucous membranes.

Set is unconsciously compelled to protect Lin Sosa and can sense when she is undergoing physical trauma. Resisting her spoken commands—though, even the thought of which requires a substantial act of will—results in extreme, debilitating physical pain as the Ouroboros Crown seems to constrict ever tighter about his skull. Lin Sosa also has some control which resembles the effects of post-hypnotic suggestion. She can, for example, force him to sleep with a command.

The Ouroboros Crown’s primary offensive capability is to convert Set’s physical body into fuel for a devastating fusion reaction, simply called The Raze. The Crown creates a perfect “record” of Set, called the Ouroboros Matrix, and stores it outside of real time and space so that Set can be rebuilt after detonation. Set can initiate detonation himself or can be commanded to by Lin Sosa. The Crown is connected to the Resonance Bell and the Hub Receiver in such a way that neither Lin Sosa nor Eris Anandale suffer in the least from any occurrence of The Raze.

Eris Anandale is a savant. She is stunningly buxom, but has the mentality of a 6-year-old, which often gets her into trouble. Her ability to sense, sort, and isolate even the most subtle of energy signatures is augmented significantly by her Artifact, the Hub Receiver.

While Dark, she has the appearance of an anthropomorphic rabbit, with soft fur the color of her normally honey-blond hair, and operates in three basic modes: calculation, idle, and flight. When called upon to calculate, she will literally become like a living computer, identifying verbally all incoming signals and setting them aside mentally as she isolates the signal Lin Sosa will use to guide the Resonance Bell. Eris is forgetful and sometimes remains Dark but “idle” for prolonged periods, which is actually beneficial since it offers her additional protection and readily facilitates her “flight” mode, in which her mind goes blank and her rabbit-like reflexes take over, her powerful legs engaging at the first sign of danger. Though often taking her out of harm’s way, her “flight” mode has also resulted in her getting separated from her squadmates and subsequently lost.

Lin Sosa does not physically change when going Dark, but a representation of her Artifact usually becomes visible. From the outside, the Resonance Bell appears to be made of bronze, stands 2.5 meters tall, and is 2 meters at its widest diameter. Inside, the regular, default dimensions are at least 3 times that, though these could be changed and additional rooms could be added, if Lin so wished, up to a capacity of 20,000 cubic meters. The main space is filled with cushions and pillows and is furnished with a couch that wraps all the way around the inner “wall”.

Even when visible, the Bell is not physically accessible to anyone or -thing if Lin does not allow it, which makes it the ultimate sanctuary. If assaulted, the Bell has a natural defense equivalent to Lin's Dark RMP, but it is completely impregnable and resistant to damage of any sort as long as Lin consciously wills it to be so. Inside the Bell is a comfortable environment, providing suitable life support functions. The Bell can house anything put into it up to its capacity.

Besides providing protection, the Bell substantially increases Lin’s innate ability to latch onto energy signals of all kinds and ride them to their source. It also provides the means to accommodate passengers.

Icsain does not undergo a physical change when he goes Dark. While not technically a psychic himself, his intellect and ability to simultaneously calculate multiple probabilities give him an exceptional defense against psychic assault. They also enable him to exploit the Relic Cords in a way that Karlan Farsal never could. With the Cords, Icsain can control up to 140,000 individuals and need not focus on any single one or group after a set of instructions has been given. With instructions, any being under the control of the Cords will complete assigned tasks, using limited critical thinking skills to accomplish the required goal or die in the attempt. Once the goal has been accomplished, the being under control will wait idle for further instructions.

On receipt of the Resurrection Bolts, Raus Kapler’s skin color underwent
a permanent change. His skin is now pale and seemingly translucent,
revealing a gray or even greenish hue beneath. The Resurrection Bolts
are visible as smooth metal circles on either side of his neck until he
goes Dark, when the Bolts extend out beyond his skin. When Dark, his
skin darkens further and more metal bolts rise up along the lengths of
his arms and along his spine.

The Bolts enhance Raus physically, as is the case with all Artifacts,
but they significantly increase his ability to produce electricity to both
heal and destroy. His ability to stimulate regeneration of lost tissue
makes him one of the most resilient Shades ever produced, though his
power is not on par with that of Lor Kalkin. The Bolts also enable him
to infuse the dead with a portion of his power, bringing up to 20,000
corpses back to a semblance of life, and which he alone can control.

While not as focused or well-developed as Jav Holson’s ability to sense
bone, Kapler is able to “feel” the presence of likely raw materials for
his power, if only vaguely.